My suspicions concerning my knee were correct--I have patello-femoral syndrome.  I pronate when I walk and run, which causes my kneecap cartilage to hit my femur bone, creating painful inflammation.  Since my knee pain has been fading, the orthopedic specialist I saw yesterday said that I should continue to take care of my knee as I have been doing (resting, icing, wearing a brace), but with a few modifications.  He gave me arch supports to wear in my shoes, and I plan on going to a shoe store within the next few days to purchase new--and much more comfortable--black flats to wear when I bartend.  The doctor also showed me a few quad stretches to implement into my daily routine, which will prevent future PFS flare-ups.  Best of all, he said I could start running again (yay!), but gradually at first (2-3 miles to start out).

This is the best news I've heard all week.  I'm so happy that I'll be able to run again.  I may start cross-training once a week anyway to give my knees a rest from all the pounding caused by running, and may not actually start running again for another week or two, but I'm excited that my dreams of running a full marathon have not been squashed.

Our receptionist at Corporate is on vacation this week, so I have taken over the front desk in her absence (mwoohahaha!!!).  Actually, I don't mind working my old job, although the fact that I'm doing both her job and my own makes me twice as busy.

I watched Seth run his first 5K this weekend, the TC 5K.  He ran sub-10 minute miles, which was faster than he expected, and he finished strong.  Good job, Seth; I'm proud of you!  I'd rather run in races than watch them (and trust me, I was debating that morning whether I should run or not, esp. because I couldn't get my registration fee refunded, but decided against it), but I had a fun time watching the TC 5K.  The crowd was great, cheering on all the runners as they finished.  I even chatted with a few people while waiting for our respective parties to finish the run.  One woman, a soccer mom, had two sons, ages 9 and 10, running the race.  Gosh, they were fast--they finished in 20 minutes!  Those kids are going to be track or cross country stars someday.